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MyNeedToRead

My Need to Read

I love to explore genre fiction, and while I usually go for books with a romantic thread running through it, I just love great character and world building. And since I can hardly stand to let go of my favorite characters, I like series.

The Wicked West - Victoria Dahl What a steamy little novella! ^_^ This tale, written by Victoria Dahl "as Holly Summers," was actually referenced as part of the author's contemporary romance novel Talk Me Down. In that book, the heroine is an erotic novel writer whose latest book-in-progress is about a sweet and mild-mannered English widow who has taken a very particular interest in the town Sheriff; she recognizes his own secret (and denied) desire to dominate (...yes, as in D/s).I quite enjoyed the "cat and mouse" type interaction between Lily Anders and Sheriff Hale. Though she comes off as meek, Lily is quite determined to get her man to accept himself--and thus accept her affections. The two have just enough explained backstory to make their struggle/mission compelling, too. The steam factor is pretty high here, but the tale has more to it than that. Yay. :o)I think this story could have supported a full-length treatment. As it stands, what could've been a thrilling subplot came off extremely abrupt. But I suppose that's ultimately neither here nor there. At the very least, the story was solid and whet the appetite for more.I must say, reading this novella was all the more fun having read Talk Me Down. The fictional author's experiences, most especially those that took place over the course of the novel, had an impact on her writing. I'd like to think that one could gain some fun insight into that character's writing choices by reading this novella (as well as recognize where her experiences might have inspired the novella's characters/plot). Victoria Dahl's decision to use her own character's nom de plume would suggest as much, at least.As far as I know, The Wicked West is only available as an ebook, which can be found at any of the major ebook retailers (Amazon, BoB, Diesel, Kobo, etc). I'd say it's worth it.